


Neo Fantasy Online: Metamorphosis

by Ash0605



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday, Chatting & Messaging, Everyone Is Gay, Gen, God its what she deserves she deserves happiness, Rinko uses a lot of kaomojis, Rui gets a hobby!!!, Tags Are Hard, The other members of Roselia and Morfonica play minor roles at start + end, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27648967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605
Summary: Rinko unexpectedly invites Rui to play Neo Fantasy Online with her. Rui ends up with more than just a new friend and a hobby.Happy Birthday Rui!
Relationships: Shirokane Rinko/Yashio Rui
Comments: 11
Kudos: 18





	Neo Fantasy Online: Metamorphosis

With the girls in the atelier finally winding down from practice, Rui decided that there was no better time to say what she had been mulling over for several days. She finished putting her violin away and placed the case on one of the shelves before turning to the others.

“If you all don’t mind, could I ask you about something?”

The other members of Morfonica, expecting music related statements or criticism, snapped to attention. The girls excluding Rui were all sat around the low table in the center of the room, with Nanami and Touko sitting side by side on the sofa and Mashiro and Tsukushi sitting on singular chairs. Rui stood away from the table, watching the entire room as it was bathed in sunset light filtering in from outside. “Sure thing. What did you need, Rui-san?” Tsukushi asked.

Rui worked through her thoughts internally, trying to work out what she was wanting to say and trying to anticipate the other members reactions. “Do any of you know anything about online games?” Witnessing the varying degrees of shock on the other members face’s, from Mashiro and Tsukushi trying to hide it and Nanami and Touko being obvious, she immediately wished she hadn’t bothered. “Actually, disregard what I just said.”

“No Rui! Its fine!” Touko exclaimed, raising her palms out in front of her. “It’s just not something we would expect from you!”

“Could you tell us the context of why you’re asking?” Tsukushi asked politely.

“An old acquaintance of mine invited me to play an online game with her at an internet café a few days ago.”

“That’s so cool RuiRui! What game did she invite you to play?” Nanami questioned, leaning forward in her chair.

“I can’t help but imagine you playing an action game now!” Touko joked, almost wishfully.

“I can see her playing what she’s good at, so maybe horror? Her expression barely changed after we went to go see that horror movie together!” Nanami suggested.

“I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you both then, since I have no idea myself.”

“Seriously?” Touko muttered, shocked.

“I… realize now that I should have asked. None of you can really help me now.”

“I wish I knew more about games so I could help you, Rui-san.” Mashiro apologized.

Rui cut in quickly before Mashiro had a chance to bow unnecessarily. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

“Forgive me for asking so many questions, but do we know this acquaintance? Has she performed at CiRCLE?”

“She’s the keyboardist of Roselia. I’m not sure if any of you know her, but I knew her when I was quite young.”

Mashiro’s face lit up with recollection. “You’re talking about Shirokane-san, right? She’s so talented on the piano!”

Rui nodded in agreement. “She really is. I stopped seeing her after I quit competitions many years ago.”

“Hold on! You stopped seeing her? When did you bump into her again?” Touko asked.

“I first saw her again at the sakura viewing party, and then saw her again after she had performed a live.”

“So you don’t consider this girl to be a friend?”

“I don’t think I can, no.”

Touko furrowed her brow and let out a few shaky breaths. “I mean no offense Rui, but are you sure you ain’t trolling us?”

“Touko-chan!” Tsukushi scolded, rising out of her chair to her full height. “Don’t say things like that!”

“I’m not saying that! I just…” Touko took a deep breath. “Look, we’re all super stoked about you getting an offer like this, but I… can’t be the only one who feels like this doesn’t add up! You barely know this person, and you’ve shown no interest in anything other than violin, let alone online games! I just can’t comprehend why you would go for something like this!”

The other members looked at Rui with a mixture of shock and horror, but Rui was unfazed. “That’s a valid criticism, Kirigaya-san. Up until recently I… wasn’t sure myself. The reason I found was that she… interested me.”

“Interested you? You can’t leave us hanging like that.” Touko pressed. Tsukushi rose her hand in retort again, but Rui continued before she could speak.

“Shirokane-san is very talented at the piano. More talented than I ever could be at the violin. When she plays I just… can’t think about anything else. She won every single competition I entered when I was young.”

Mashiro’s face lit up with recollection again. “When we were talking after the first live I did, was that girl you were referring to Shirokane-san?”

“She was, yes.”

Her eyes widened as her thought process reached the obvious conclusion. “So she was the reason you quit violin?!”

“I suppose you could say that, yes. When-”

“You’d better not be thinking of quitting on us, Rui!” Touko exclaimed, rising up from her chair. “We can’t do this without you!”

“Touko-chan!” Tsukushi chastised desperately.

“You didn’t let me finish, though I can reassure you that I don’t plan to quit. When she told me she was interested in playing an online game with me, I was perplexed. She’s in a more technically polished band than me and she’s in a more demanding student council position than me, yet she still finds the time to play an online game. It’s probably just down to her being more talented, but I can’t help but feel like there’s something more to it.”

Rui’s thoughts raced as the other members sat in silence, processing what Rui had told them. Rui’s mind was silenced when Tsukushi finally stood up and spoke. “Do you want to change to be like her, Rui-san?”

There was that word again. She couldn’t comprehend why this word had such an effect on her now considering all the change she had put herself through during her lifetime. Why was it so unfathomable to her?

“I’m… not really sure.”

“I can understand that.” Tsukushi reassured. “Wanting to be like her is illogical and goes against your entire world view. However, I think there’s a part of you who wants to try and see what happens.”

Rui said nothing, her eyes drifting down to the floor. “I don’t… really understand?” she admitted, her voice wavering.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you so down, RuiRui! You’re looking just like Shiro-chan!” Nanami joked.

“Nanami-chan!” Mashiro protested.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Nanami laughed. “In complete seriousness though, I think doing something like this is perfectly fine!”

“It’s more than perfectly fine!” Touko continued. “You spend 5-10 hours a day practicing the violin! If I did that with guitar I’m pretty sure my fingers would fall off! You have the time to spare playing online games with someone, especially if it’s just a one-time thing!”

Rui’s brow furrowed in thought, and eventually her eyes rose to face Tsukushi’s. “Are you guys sure?”

“We’re sure.” Tsukushi reassured confidently. “We’ll help you in any way we can.”

Rui didn’t feel entirely convinced, but she felt her shoulders relax for the first time in several days. “Thank you everyone. I’ll… do my best with Shirokane-san. I’m rather ashamed I can’t tell you what game we plan to play, since I didn’t ask.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Mashiro reassured enthusiastically. “When are you meeting up with Shirokane-san?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

The atelier was silent for several long seconds after Rui spoke, their brows furrowed in concentration. Said silence was broken after Nanami tipped off the side of the sofa she was perched on and onto the floor. While Tsukushi and Mashiro rushed to Nanami’s aid, Touko spared a glance her way before returning to face Rui with a mixed expression of shock and concern.

“Tomorrow? You’re not joking, are you?”

\----------

As the final guitar phrase concluded, CiRCLE’s practice room found itself in an uneasy silence. Roselia’s run-through of their newest song was unsatisfactory, just like all the run-throughs before, and every member knew it. Over time, the strained and delayed piano notes become worse and more obvious, reaching their zenith during the most recent attempt. As soon as they had finished, Rinko felt Yukina’s piercing gaze on her.

“Shirokane-san, you’ve been struggling with practice all day today. Is everything alright?”

Rinko cowered behind her piano, fearing the hostile gazes she would receive upon raising her head. However, Yukina’s soft voice didn’t match what she was expecting, and when she mustered the courage to raise her head she saw the other members looking at her with concerned, well-meaning expressions.

After a few seconds, she felt a hand gently come to rest on her shoulder. “Is something wrong, RinRin? You can tell us, don’t worry!” Ako asked.

Rinko dipped back behind her piano. “I’m not sure if I can… I’ve left it to the last minute…”

“That makes me even more concerned. You’re always so diligent at student council, so leaving things late isn’t something you would do.” Sayo countered.

“You can tell us if something’s bothering you, ok?” Lisa reassured, flashing Rinko a gentle smile.

“Ok…” Rinko stood up to face the other members, and spent a few seconds gathering her thoughts before speaking. “I invited an old acquaintance of mine to play NFO tomorrow afternoon and I’m… not sure whether it was a good idea…”

“By acquaintance, I’m assuming you at least know this person, right? Are they somebody we would know?” Sayo asked.

“It’s Rui Yashio from Morfonica. I saw her a lot at competitions when I was young, but she stopped going after a while… I met her again at the sakura viewing party a few months ago.”

“Yashio-san…” Yukina closed her eyes and stroke her chin. “I don’t think I’ve had any personal contact with her, but I can vouch for her skill in playing the violin.”

“She’s really talented, and still is… I always wanted to talk to her back then but she disappeared before I had the chance…”

“I don’t see how it’s a bad idea! You wanted to get to know her before, so I see this as doing something you couldn’t do before!” Lisa cheered.

“I agree. I can definitely see why it’s troubling you though.” Sayo acknowledged. “Reconnecting with a long lost acquaintance is harder than connecting with a fellow student council member like Ichigaya-san, but it’s definitely something you’re capable of.”

“You’re the best person I know at NFO! She’ll think you’re so cool!” Ako exclaimed.

“Thank you all so much for the encouragement!” Rinko smiled gratefully. She felt herself tear up.

“Please let us know how it goes, Shirokane-san.” Yukina requested, a small smile on her lips.

“You’ve gotta tell me RinRin! I know you’ll show her how cool you are!”

“I would love to hear about the result too, but only if you’re comfortable.”

“You’ve got this Rinko! I know you can do it!”

Rinko chuckled to herself happily as she wiped a stray tear from her face. “I’ll definitely let you all know how it goes…!”

\----------

Rui breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed when the internet café she was looking for finally entered her field of view. Finding it wasn’t hard due to the map on her phone, but the anticipation coursing throughout her body and the task of dodging the downtown crowds made the simple task more nerve wracking than it had any right to be.

The other members had recommended that Rui dressed casually for the event, after which they all fell into deep thought as they realized that Rui’s casual wear was as formal as it could get. After agreeing that a wardrobe change was the last thing Rui needed at a time like this, Rui opted for a black blouse and a pencil skirt with a brown and blue tartan pattern.

When Rui reached the brown door leading to the internet café, she gripped the handle and took a deep breath before gently pushing it open. The floor of the café was spotless and was covered with black and gray squares, while the walls were a clean beige colour. Numerous well-lit booths lined the walls on the far side of the café, and Rui could see computer monitors and leather red chairs in them. Some of them were occupied by people using the computers, though Rui couldn’t see what any of them were doing from where she was standing.

She turned to the reception counter on her right, which was staffed by a young woman who greeted Rui with a polite wave. The girl who was stood at the counter had distinctive long black hair, and when she turned around Rui was greeted by familiar, vivid purple eyes.

Rinko’s face lit up upon seeing the familiar face. “Yashio-san! I’m so glad you came…” She was wearing a white buttoned blouse and a black knee length skirt.

“Likewise, Shirokane-san.” Rui greeted politely, taking a light bow. “I haven’t been keeping you waiting, have I?”

“Not at all…! I ended up arriving a bit earlier than we agreed.” She turned to the clerk at the counter as Rui made her way over. “The person I was waiting for arrived… Can I pay for two side by side booths for two hours please?”

“Sure thing! That’ll be 2000 yen.”

“2000 yen…?” Rinko repeated, her voice turning shaky and quiet. “I thought… I thought it was 400 yen per hour?”

“It is for those under 18. For adults, its 600 yen per hour.”

Rinko placed the change she had on the desk and fumbled around in her bag for her purse. After watching Rinko’s breath grow quicker and shallower as she dug around in her purse, Rui concluded that Rinko probably didn’t have enough money to pay.

Rui stepped forward and faced the clerk, her right hand dipping into her own purse. “I know your assumption was made in good faith, but I can assure you that I am a first year high school student.” Rinko stopped digging around in her purse instantly, turning to look at Rui with wide eyes.

“No… that’s impossible! Do you have any proof of ID? I can barely believe you’re a high school student, let alone a first year.”

As soon as the staff member had finished her sentence, Rui had already handed her student card to her. “I can prove it. Here’s my student card.”

The clerk took the student card hesitantly and studied it closely, her eyes and mouth widening in shock as she read it over and over again. Eventually, the clerk returned Rui’s card, bowing her head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry miss! I didn’t mean to offend you by saying you were an adult!”

“No offense taken, so don’t worry. I’ve gotten used to carrying my student card around with me wherever I go.” Rui then turned her attention to Rinko, who was still taken after thinking she didn’t have enough money. “It’s all sorted now, Shirokane-san.” Rui reassured.

“Oh… uh… right…!” Rinko took a few deep breaths and relaxed before passing 1600 yen over to the cashier. “This is enough for 2 hours, right…?”

“It is, don’t worry.” The cashier took the money with a warm smile and gestured towards two adjacent booths on the opposite side of the room. “Are booths 34 and 35 ok?”

“They are… thank you so much!” Rinko said graciously.

Rui bowed politely at the cashier. “Thank you for your time.”

The pair made their way to the booths quickly. When they arrived, Rui got a better look at the insides. The computer monitor and box containing the computer’s internal parts rested adjacent to each other on a polished wooden table. An empty shelf above had enough space for any bags or possessions, and a lamp on the ceiling and a light fixed to the shelf ensured that the booth was well lit. A pair of red headphones sat on a hook in one of the walls of the booth.

Rinko let out a deep sigh as she slumped into her chair. “I’m sorry for what happened back there Yashio-san… I’ve felt really nervous about today, and I think it caught up with me…”

Rui slowly lowered herself into the seat adjacent to Rinko. “Don’t apologies. To be completely honest, I’ve been feeling the same. I didn’t… even ask about what game we were going to be playing.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you… I was thinking of playing a game called Neo Fantasy Online. Do you know much about it?”

“I don’t really play any games, but I do know a little bit about that one.” Rui replied with a smile. She told herself internally to thank the other members of Morfonica for looking at a selection of online games beforehand, of which Neo Fantasy Online was one of them. “You… explore around and fight monsters, right?”

“Yes, those two things are the basics of it!” Rinko confirmed excitedly. “NFO is installed on all of the computers here already, so we can set you up quickly… Do you want me to help you?”

“That would be useful, if it’s not too much trouble of course.”

Rui turned to face her monitor and powered the computer on as Rinko moved gently into her booth to help her. She greeted Rui with a warm smile before helping direct her mouse towards Neo Fantasy Online’s desktop icon. After opening the program and waiting for a few seconds, she was greeted with the grandiose picture of the NFO title screen. She heard the muffled orchestral title theme playing from the headphones hung up on the wall of her booth but didn’t dare move to appreciate the music or put her headphones on while Rinko was guiding her. From here the pair clicked into the menu to start creating a new account.

Rui started by inputting her username, password and email address. She couldn’t think of any usernames off the top of her head but felt comfortable simply using her last name for the sake of simplicity after Rinko told her that she could change it later. Rinko covered her eyes as Rui inserted her email and typed a password and Rui couldn’t get Rinko to uncover them despite her insistence that it was ok (She certainly wasn’t against exchanging contact details with Rinko). Rui found herself appreciating the wholesome gesture regardless. 

The next stage of registering was the process of creating the appearance of her playable character. Unsure of what other inspiration to use, Rui simply tried to create her character based on her own looks. After a few minutes of experimenting with the vast collection of tools Rui was impressed at how close her character resembled her real life appearance, and when Rinko complimented her on a job well done a part of Rui felt very happy.

The final part of the registration process was picking a class. Of all the information Morfonica dug up about Neo Fantasy Online that morning, the class system was the one thing Rui wished they had found out more about. The class options for Neo Fantasy Online almost filled the entire screen, and although Rui had a vague knowledge of concepts like knights, wizards, bards and priests she had no idea how they worked in this game. Rui only got more and more confused as she read about each class option in turn, so when Rinko recommended the wizard class Rui didn’t hesitate in picking it.

“That’s the registration process done…!” Rinko declared triumphantly. “Once you press the start button there you’ll enter the game world…”

“I’m glad that’s finally finished. Will you be playing from the computer next to me?”

Rinko nodded “Yes, I will be… The game is online, so we can play together from our separate computers.”

“I’ll feel better if I’m with you. Should I enter now, or should I wait for you?”

“Feel free to enter, but don’t move far from where the game starts you.” Rinko explained. “I have to log in and warp over to where you start, so I’ll be a few minutes…”

“Am I ok wearing these headphones too?” Rui asked, lifting the headphones off the hook.

“That’s ok too!”

“Thank you.” Rui donned the headphones, blocking out most of the noise from outside and muffling the sound of everything else. Rui spent a few moments listening to the music (It wasn’t particularly complex but its simplicity made easy listening) and then pressed the start button to enter the game world.

\----------

When the game finished loading, Rui was greeted by a view made up of dirt paths, red roofed houses, stone walls and green grass. The words ‘Departure Village’ appeared in front of her for a about a second before fading. Any criticism she had about the unimaginative name was pushed to the back of her mind as she admired the view around her. The world was so detailed and vivid; Rui could see footprints in the dirt below her feet, markings and scratches in the houses around her and wispy clouds in the blue sky above. The light sounds of insects in the grass and footsteps from the people walking around her accompanied an orchestral theme that mixed the sensation of a grand new beginning with the feeling of a quiet medieval village.

If video games were a waste of time, it certainly wasn’t seen that way by the people making them. Rui didn’t have the knowledge to tell whether this was an inspired setting, but she could tell that the people working on it were passionate about creating it. The more she thought about video games being a waste of time, the more a part of her seemed to cry out in protest.

Rui didn’t stray far from her starting location in the village square, instead watching groups of what she presumed to be players go by. Looking at the variation in armor and clothing, from plain to ornate and flashy, prompted Rui to look down at her own outfit. She was wearing a simple light grey robe with a large, pointed hat.

“Yashio-san? Where are you? (＾▽＾)”

Rui’s attention was drawn towards a girl looking around the village center. She wore a similar type of garment to Rui, but hers was coloured fiery red. Looking at her long black hair and purple eyes, Rui knew this was Rinko.

“Shirokane-san? I’m stood by a signpost. I’m… jumping up and down. Can you see me?” (Rui didn’t want to admit how long it took her to find out how to speak and jump.)

“Ooooo I can see you!!! Hello! (^-^*)/” Rinko ran towards Rui, greeting her with a pleasant wave. Now that she was away from the hordes of players at the starting area, Rui could identify her in-game name, which was ‘RinRin’.

“I can certainly see where you got your name from. Would you prefer it if I called you by that?”

“I don’t really mind! Feel free to use both!”

Rui wasn’t sure how to wave like Rinko, so she resorted to a nod as an alternative. She pulled her eyes away from Rinko and observed the environment around her. It took a few seconds to confirm what she already knew: she had no idea what she was doing. “Forgive me for looking so gormless, but where are we going from here?”

“It’s up to you! There’s a short tutorial you can do that teaches you the basics, or you can skip that and learn on your own. We could either explore around the village looking for quests or leave its borders and explore the plains beyond! ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶“ Rinko explained enthusiastically.

Rui felt taken aback both by the weird symbols Rinko was typing and the speed at which she wrote her messages (Rui could hear the furious keystrokes from the booth next to her, even through her headphones). After pushing those thoughts aside for now, Rui concentrated on the options Rinko gave. The tutorial seemed like the most logical way forward, teaching Rui how to play the game. And yet…

“If it’s not too much trouble, could we just explore around here for now?”

“That’s cool! Departure Village has a few cool sights, so I can lead you to those! NFO’s tutorial is quite basic, and offers no class specific information, so I might be able to do a better job at telling you the basics. (✯◡✯)”

Rui nodded her head in agreement, and the pair set off together. As they toured the sights of Departure Village, Rinko offered to lecture Rui about the world of Neo Fantasy Online and Rui couldn’t bring herself to say no. The world was set on a large continent called Fleig, a territory ravaged by war and chaos. The constant warring was at its strongest at the epicenter of the continent, with danger levels decreasing as you moved away. While the borderlands of the continent were always the safest places, Departure Village was unique in that it was the safest and most secure place in the game. Even the monsters roaming the plains around the village weren’t very strong, making it (in Rinko’s words) a perfect place for new players to get used to the game.

Rui didn’t have any time to consider the concepts of designing games for new players, since Rinko moved on to talk about places and people far beyond the villages borders. She spoke enthusiastically about cities forged in fire, of sacred centers guarding holy relics and the ruins of vast metropolis’s. By the time she moved on to in-game characters she loved, Rui realized she was more invested in Rinko’s vast wall of text than in the windmills, market squares and rolling plains around her.

“And Ooh! I would love to tell you about the legendary founding heroes of the kingdoms of F-“ The wall of text stopped abruptly, prompting Rui to turn to Rinko with what she hoped was a look of concern (The furious typing from the booth next to her also stopped suddenly, heightening her sense of unease). “I’m sorry for overwhelming you with all this stuff, especially since you barely know how to play!”

“Don’t apologize. Perhaps it was overwhelming at first, but I ended up enjoying it more than I was expecting to by the end. Please feel free to continue.”

“Thank you for the encouragement Yashio-san! (*≧ω≦*) I think I’ll move on to teaching you a few things though if that’s alright.”

“Feel free.” (Rui couldn’t express the slight grin she got reading Rinko’s reply)

Rinko then moved on to teaching Rui about some of the basics of the game with the same vigor and speed she had used prior. She told Rui how to open up her inventory and lectured her on the basics of inventory management. She told Rui how to emote and gesture, finally allowing Rui to give her the proper greeting she was long overdue. She instructed Rui on the basics of combat for wizards, talking about spell and mana management. When Rui admitted that it didn’t all make sense yet, Rinko reassured her happily that they could go through it again once they were in a proper combat situation. She even told her about the symbols she laced throughout her speech, which were apparently called kaomoji’s. (Rui found these symbols quite cute, but couldn’t copy and paste one of the ones Rinko used to send back to her despite trying everything she could think of)

Eventually, Rinko and Rui came to the end of their tour outside Departure Village’s tavern. While it was built from the same red rooves and beige walls that made up the other structures, the tavern was the largest building Rui had seen on her tour. The double doors were propped open, and Rui could hear the sounds of drinking and conversation spilling out from within.

“This is our last stop: Departure Village’s tavern ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆! The tavern here is special in that most of Departure Village’s quests can be found here on a rotating basis, rather than on the bulletin board by the market square. This is the only town in the game which functions like this, and to be honest I’m not sure why!”

“That’s quite interesting. I wonder if they’ll take me for an adult and sell me alcohol.” Rui joked bluntly.

“That would be funny to see! ” Rinko laughed. “Unfortunately, even if you set your age to above 20 they wouldn’t sell you any drinks.”

“Perhaps that’s for the best.” At this point, Rui became conscious of the fact that they had reached the end of their tour, and thus didn’t have a direction to go in. “You mentioned quests while talking to me beforehand. Can I try accepting one here?”

“Yeah that would be fun!ヽ(*⌒▽⌒*)ﾉ The quests in Departure Village won’t take you very far, so you’ll be relatively safe throughout. There are some quests which have multiple parts in different towns, but I’ll let you know beforehand so you don’t pick up a quest you can’t do yet.”

Rui gave a thumbs up in response, and then proceeded to walk inside and scan the quest markers around the room, too engrossed in that task to acknowledge the greeting from the barman. After a few seconds, her eyes rested on a group of uniformed people seated in the center of the room, all comforting a single crying man.

Rui walked up to the table and activated the quest marker. “You look very distraught, sir. Is there something I can help you with?”

A woman with a hand on the man’s shoulder nodded gravely and started speaking in his stead. “We’re a group of travelling musicians who wander around the world looking for stages to perform on. We got attacked by a group of bandits on our way here and Reginald-san here had his prized trumpet stolen. We can’t perform as a troupe without him.”

Rui then felt a pair of hands grasp hers, and her attention returned to the man in the middle. Despair was written all over his face, and Rui could barely pick out the colour of his eyes under the volume of tears pouring out of them. His expression was more real than what Rui was expecting. “I beg you ma’am! You have to help me! The trumpet is all I have!”

Rui’s brow furrowed in sympathy for the man, but before she could agree to the quest, she felt an indescribable feeling surge through her chest. Her entire body tensed up as her eyes widened and her breathing quickened, and no matter how hard she swallowed or tried to ignore the pain she couldn’t suppress the sickly feeling in her stomach.

“I’ll… I’ll help you. I’ll get your trumpet back.”

“You have our thanks miss!” the woman next to him replied gratefully. “The village came together and confirmed the location of the bandit’s camping site to be northwest of the village in a forest clearing. Make sure to keep yourself safe, traveler!”

A prompt flashed up in front of Rui, confirming that she had accepted the quest. Rinko walked up alongside her and gestured for her attention, serenading her with a round of applause once Rui’s eyes were on her. “Congrats Yashio-san! You accepted your first quest! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ The bandit camp isn’t very far, so we can go straight there!”

Rui swallowed and gave an uneasy nod in reply. “Yes, let’s start making our way there. I don’t want to keep this man waiting.”

“This quest doesn’t have a time limit, but our computer time does, so let’s get going! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ”

Rinko lead Rui out of the tavern and towards Departure Village’s northern exit. The feeling of dread in Rui’s stomach didn’t subside.

\----------

After leaving Departure Village, the pair were greeted by a vast open plain encircled by trees. The azure fields were bright and vivid, and Rui could see other travelers walking around the field and the prowling figures of what she assumed to be the monsters. The music here was less structured and grandiose than the piece used in Departure Village, but it used similar leitmotifs, perhaps calling back to the idea of starting a new adventure.

“Yashio-san! There are some slimes over here if you want to try some combat!” Rinko gave a polite wave and gestured her towards 3 blob like creatures sliding around in the grass. Rinko met Rui halfway and stopped her from getting too close to the slimes. “All wizards start with a spell called magic bolt, which you can shoot from a distance to damage enemies. Try walking up to one of the slimes and press the 1 key on your keyboard!”

“Understood. I’ll try do that now.” Rui started walking towards the slime, and after a few steps the slime became hostile, making a series of small jumps in her direction.

“Do your best Yashio-san! ( ・∀・)・・・--------☆” Rinko cheered from behind.

Rui faced the slime and opened out her palm, speaking a series of incantations in a tongue she couldn’t comprehend. A flash of light shot out of her palm and struck the slime directly, splitting it into pieces with a satisfying squelch. She turned back to Rinko with an uneasy smile, unsure whether she should derive satisfaction from the death of the creature.

“One shot Yashio-san! You’re a natural! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ” Rinko congratulated, jumping up and down on the spot.

“For the sake of clarification, do I need to aim the bolt? I don’t think I did so before.”

“You don’t need to aim it directly! Just make sure you’re in range of the enemy you wish to use the spell on!”

“Alright. I’ll engage the second one now.” Rui turned to the second slime and slowly made her way towards it, getting a sense of the maximum distance she could cast magic bolt from. As soon as the setting became available she used it, defeating the slime in the same way as before. She turned back to Rinko with a thumbs up to communicate her success.

“Be careful Yashio-san! The third slime aggroed on you now!”

Rui snapped back around quickly to see the third slime jumping onto her leg. The wet impact of the slime was more shocking to Rui than the dull ache it caused in her leg as it slowly sucked away her lifeforce. Rui prepared a third magic bolt to scatter the slime, after which she stood victorious. As Rinko enthusiastically made her way over, she felt an unknown triumphant jingle resonate in her ears.

“You did it Yashio-san! Those slimes didn’t stand a chance, even if the last one got the drop on you! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°” Rinko congratulated. “I think you levelled up too!”

“Levelled up…? Was that what that sound was for?” Rui pondered.

“It is! Wizards get to pick an elemental specialization at level 2, picking from fire, ice, nature, wind and electricity!”

“That’s interesting. You’re the same class as me, right? What element did you pick?”

“I picked fire! I get to incinerate all of my enemies! ヽ(o＾▽＾o)ノ”

Rui regarded the kaomoji Rinko sent with a light chuckle. “I won’t get on your bad side then. My gut instinct was to pick ice, but I probably need more information to make an educated decision.”

“Your gut instinct is still valid! I have so much respect for ice wizards, especially since you don’t see too many of them! They get to freeze enemies and use their frozen forms as cover for them and their teammates or push them into enemies for extra damage! They don’t do a lot of damage quickly, but they are very good at supporting parties and slowing or freezing difficult enemies! You could say that they are… pretty cool!” Rinko explained happily.

Rui snorted at Rinko’s pun and scolded herself immediately for it. “Why did I laugh at that…! I’ll go with the ice powers then.” She confirmed the option in a side menu and felt the robes she was wearing change. She looked down in interest at the royal blue colours of her robes.

“I think ice wizards look the coolest too! They’re super fancy! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) Shall we keep going towards the bandit camp? We can keep fighting enemies along the way!”

“Can you give me a few seconds first?”

“Sure thing Yashio-san!” As Rui fiddled around with and struggled with the controls, Rinko started moving closer to her, eventually ending up crouching in front of her. “Yashio-san? Do you need help with anything?”

“(´｡• ᵕ •｡`) Did I do that right?” Rui asked sheepishly.

“Oh my gosh, you did!” Rinko cheered, surprised. “I wasn’t expecting to influence you with kaomoji today!”

“I wasn’t expecting it either. They’re quite expressive, aren’t they?”

“They really are, and they’re so cute \\(★ω★)/! I memorized a list of kaomoji a while ago, so I’ll send it to you!”

“I would really appreciate that Shirokane-san. Shall we get going?”

“Yeah!”

\----------

As the open plains gave way for a dark and vibrant forest, the tone of the music changing to reflect its murky nature, the uneasy feeling Rui felt before returned. The process of exploring her new ice powers to both freeze enemies and create ice walls to block attacks allowed her to push the feeling aside. However, as the forest clearing and the trumpet grew closer, the memories of the musician returned, and with it the sickly feeling.

Rinko left all the fighting to Rui, both to give Rui practice at fighting enemies and managing spells and to conceal and conserve her own abilities. She led the way whenever the pair weren’t in combat, giving Rui advice and telling her about a time where she played Neo Fantasy Online with the rest of her band. As the forest clearing drew closer the sound of her heartbeat drowned out most of what Rinko was saying, no matter how hard Rui tried to listen.

Eventually, the forest opened out into a clearing, and Rinko and Rui crouched in the bushes around the open space as they observed the bandits within. These were the first human enemies Rui would be facing, different from the slimes and goblins she had defeated on her journey. They all wore different types and amounts of clothing ranging from shirts to shorts and kits, though Rui couldn’t identity any sort of command structure from this. A few large mossy rocks in the clearing likely acted as lookout points, but the bandits were all gathered around a fire, taking pieces off of a large piece of meat being spit roasted. Rui decided that now was the best time to attack.

Her eyes scanned the clearing, looking for points where she could place an ice wall to try and funnel enemies into her icy wind like Rinko had instructed her. Her plan involving one of the rocks was cut short as her eyes rested on a chest in the center of the camp, likely containing the trumpet and any other treasures they were holding.

After a few more moments of scheming, and an encouraging nod from Rinko, Rui pushed away the feeling of dread in her chest and ran forward. The bandits reacted immediately as Rui thrust her palms into the air to conjure up an ice wall by one of the rocks, rousing each other to battle and grabbing their weapons.

The first bandit ran towards Rui as fast as he could with his sword brandished, distancing himself from his allies. Rui smirked as she raised her hands and shot out an icy wind as he moved around the ice wall, freezing the bandit until he was frozen solid. She then jumped out from behind the wall and pushed him into his compatriots, dealing heavy damage to all of them since they were all bunched together.

Rui retreated back behind the wall and started the process of readying her second round of spells. This action was cut short by a series of sharp words ringing through her mind.

“ _You should make sure not to waste your time with things that won’t assist your future._ ”

The feeling in her chest became suffocating as she realized the futility of her actions. Why was she deriving joy from exploring this world and freezing monsters? It certainly wouldn’t help her future, and by that metric it was a waste of time. Parts of Rui rose in protest against this line of reasoning, causing her to completely withdraw from her surroundings. She didn’t react to the sound of her ice wall crumbling to pieces and was only brought back to reality by the painful feeling of an arrow finding its mark in her side.

Rui cried out in pain as she fell to the floor. She didn’t have the energy to crawl away to the bushes for safety, let alone get back up and continue fighting. Rinko’s footsteps and her call of “Rui-san!” were muffled by the ringing feeling in her head. Her vision was blurry, preventing her from making out any details, and her field of view was limited due to where she was laying on the ground.

She saw Rinko’s figure rush past her to face the bandits and felt overwhelmed by bright orange light as Rinko engulfed the battlefield in a sea of fire. With the bandits presumably disposed of, Rinko rushed back to her side and starting working on reviving her. Her hearing and sight improved while Rinko tended to her, and after a few seconds she felt her energy return to her.

“Are you alright?” Rinko’s face was wracked with concern. “You were doing so well, and you seemed to freeze up.”

Rui tried to steady her breathing but found her attempts in doing so to be useless. “I think… I think I just got overwhelmed by the enemies all approaching me.”

“That’s fair I suppose. It’s your first big fight. You started off really well, and if you’d kept going you would definitely have won!”

Rui said nothing in response to Rinko’s encouragement, instead focusing on getting back on her feet. “The trumpet… will be in that chest, right?”

“I believe it will be, yes.”

Rui moved towards the chest with slow, hesitant steps, and when the prompt to open the chest appeared, she took a few seconds to prepare herself before opening it. She ignored the other contents of the chest, and instead reached for the golden trumpet with shaking hands. Her breath quickened as she felt the cool metal against her hands.

“ _You have to help me! The trumpet is all I have!_ ”

The change Tsukushi was talking about, she finally understood what it was. But understanding it only seemed to the revelation scarier.

“Shirokane-san I… I don’t…” Rui took a single, shaky breath. “I don’t want the violin to be all I have.”

Rui felt a warm arm wrap around her shoulder. “Yashio-san?”

“I don’t want to be like that man. It goes… against everything I was told to live my life by… and I have no idea how to start, but I… I want to change…”

“Keep your breathing steady, Yashio-san.” Rinko reassured. “I don’t fully understand, but you want to try something other than violin, right?” After getting a nod of confirmation from Rui, Rinko continued. “You could try all the school clubs at your school? When I wanted to try get back into piano competitions, I built up my courage by joining lots of different clubs, and I got to try lots of different things as a result.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt you, but… you quit competitions?”

“I did. I had a really horrifying experience on stage, and I couldn’t let it go.” Rinko explained. “I might be overstepping my own boundaries, but why did you quit competitions? I always looked for you, but never found the chance to talk.”

“I… I concluded that I didn’t have the talent to make a future out of the violin.”

(The typing that came from the booth adjacent to Rui’s stopped completely. She regretted lifting up one of her headphones when she heard Rinko sniffling from the other booth.)

“That’s awful Rui-san! You were so talented at the violin! I always loved watching you perform, and I wanted to reach out to you so desperately!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Rui berated herself for her weak apology. She shouldn’t have quit. She shouldn’t ever have quit.

“Rui-san, did you enjoy playing violin? Do you enjoy playing violin with your band?”

Rui’s reply was instant. “It’s hard sometimes, but I do.”

“Did you enjoy playing NFO with me?”

“I did. More than I was expecting to, actually.”

“That’s all you need, Rui-san! You don’t need to devote yourself to your future! You can live in the present and find things you enjoy!”

“Shirokane-san… are you truly sure?”

“I’m absolutely positive, Rui-san.”

Doubt ran rampant in Rui’s mind, and said doubt would probably never go away. However, her trust for Rinko in that moment was stronger.

“I trust you, Shirokane-san. I’ll try my best to change.”

“You deserve to be able to change, so try your best! ヽ(>∀<☆)ノ” Rinko’s character stood up and looked around awkwardly before returning to face Rui. “I don’t mean to end this awkwardly, but should we go back and return the trumpet? I fear that we are running out of computer time.”

“Yes, let’s go do that.”

\----------

Rui switched off the computer and placed her headphones back on the hook by the wall. Her hand came back wet when she touched her face. She was too engrossed in Rinko’s words to realize that she had been crying. When she left her booth and turned to face Rinko, she realized from Rinko’s red face that she had been moved to tears too.

After making sure they had their belongings, they bid goodbye to the clerk and left the café. The pair stood silently outside on the pavement for a few moments until Rinko mustered up the courage to speak.

“Rui-s- I mean! Yashio-san! Would you be ok in exchanging numbers with me?” Rinko asked sheepishly. Her eyes darted back down to the pavement after she corrected herself.

“I… I would love to exchange numbers with you. I don’t mind being called Rui either, so don’t apologize for that.” Rui assured.

“Ok! Urm… you can call me Rinko if you want.” Rinko reached into her bag and pulled out her phone while Rui did the same. Rinko sent a test message to Rui’s number, and Rui felt a small smile creep onto her lips when her phone buzzed with the notification. “Also, Rui-san… would you like to play NFO again sometime?”

Rui felt a retort ready on her lips, but she managed to push it aside. “I really enjoyed playing with you today Rinko-san, and I would love to do it again.”

“That makes me really happy…!” Rinko’s wide, bright smile was infectious enough for Rui to adopt one of her own. “Also um… If you ever need encouragement on being able to do things because you enjoy them, text me and I can reassure you.”

Rui felt her smile widen. “I’ll keep that in mind.” she thanked graciously. “Just make sure to tell me if I’m ever being a bother.”

“You’re never a bother, Rui-san.” Rinko chuckled.

After waving each other goodbye, the pair parted ways. Although they went in opposite directions, exchanging contact details made them feel closer than ever. Rui walked away with a new resolve in her heart. She felt like her metamorphosis was finally beginning.

\-----OMAKE-----

As Rui entered the Hiromachi atelier the next day, she felt the eyes of the other members on, asking her questions before their mouths had even opened.

“Good morning, everyone.” Rui placed her violin down on the table but was interrupted before she could unpack it.

“How did yesterday go, Rui?” Touko asked, rising to her feet. “You didn’t answer any of our calls yesterday. Honestly, I was assuming the worst.”

“My apologies to all of you. I wasn’t even checking my phone yesterday. I exchanged contact numbers with Ri- Shirokane-san and we continued to play NFO in the evening.”

Rui’s admission was met with a stunned silence from the others. “Gosh… I wasn’t expecting that.” Nanami admitted.

“Honestly, I wasn’t either. I might be asking a stupid question, but would you all be interested in playing with me? Playing with Shirokane-san is fun, but it might be a different experience if I’m playing with people who are closer to my level.”

Mashiro was the first to break the silence among the other members. “I would love to try playing with you, Rui-san. We could book an internet café, just like you and Shirokane-san did.”

“That’s a good idea. The prices are quite cheap for high schoolers, so its affordable too.”

“Honestly, I think this is one of the best ideas we’ve ever had! Morfonica would absolutely slay as an esports team!” Touko agreed happily.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm Touko-chan, but we’ll probably never reach that level.” Nanami countered.

“I agree. I would quite like to continue succeeding as a band, Kirigaya-san.”

Touko crossed her arms and pouted. “Hmph! You guys have no faith in us!”

“I would definitely love to try it!” Tsukushi didn’t say anything else, but flashed Rui a thumbs up and smiled knowingly. Rui found herself immediately returning the gesture.

\----------

RinRin: I’ve just got home safely! Our time at the internet café went well! We even exchanged phone numbers! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

DemonPrincessAko: *inhales*

DemonPrincessAko: HECK YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Hikawa_Sayo: Language, Udagawa-san.

DemonPrincessAko: its not a bad word?

DemonPrincessAko: say heck sayo-san

Hikawa_Sayo: I’d rather not.

DemonPrincessAko: but this is a special occasion!!!!!!!!!!

Hikawa_Sayo: I can express my congratulations to Shirokane-san without resorting to those words.

lisa!!!!: come on sayo! say it!

Hikawa_Sayo: Don’t encourage her, Imai-san!

Minato_Yukina: i think Shiro

lisa!!!!: yukina?

Minato_Yukina: i think Shirokane-san deserves the honor, Hikawa-san

Hikawa_Sayo: Minato-san???

Hikawa_Sayo:

Hikawa_Sayo: Heck yeah!

lisa!!!!: heck yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DemonPrincessAko: HECK YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Minato_Yukina: heck

RinRin: ヽ(o＾▽＾o)ノ

RinRin: Thank you so much everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Man this turned out long! I originally had this idea back in June, but I'm glad I wrote it now. Back then I would have ditched it and wrote something shorter and safer had I realised I wasn't going to be able to upload it in time. Seeing this fully finished I'm so glad I gave it the extra day to see where it went! This the longest thing I've written, so if the quality has dropped as a result I profusely apologise. I hope we can agree that Rui deserves more hobbies and friends, and deserves to live for the present moment instead of slaving away for a future that might never happen.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any comments or feedback feel free to leave them here! If you want to reach out on twitter feel free to do so at @ash060500
> 
> I hope you have a good rest of your day and I wish you the best in staying safe!


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